Part of the Family
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: It's Fathers Day, and everyone in the Solana Galaxy, even the Galactic Rangers, are excited to celebrate with their own fathers. But there's one person who cannot be excited on this day, and it is the parentless Clank.


It was exciting day in Aleero City, and therefore the rest of the galaxy (that had the same calendar, at least). The Galactic Rangers were aware of the celebration day, as well. All of them sat in the Hall of Heroes meeting room, ready for the daily meeting to start and be over with. Captain Qwark must have felt the same way, because he wasted no time getting the meeting started.

"Greetings, Rangers!" Captain Qwark greeted brightly as he took his place at the head of the meeting table.

"Greetings, Captain!" All of the Rangers replied back.

"As you know, today is a very special day." Qwark pulled out a single button remote from seemingly out of nowhere and activated the presentation projector. The projector lit up with life and projected what was programmed on it onto the big screen at the front of the room. A picture of the words 'Fathers Day', which was poorly written with a variety of colors of crayon, appeared on screen. "It's Fathers Day, Rangers! The day that we give thanks to the strong man in our lives, who isn't me, for raising us to be the Rangers we are today. So, what kind of plans have you made for your daddies? Me personally, I'm going serenade my father with the many tales of my heroicness. I'm even going to give him my new headshot with my autograph. It'll be next to impossible to beat that, but I want to hear what you guys are doing."

The Rangers were eager to share their Fathers Day plans with each other. Elaris was the first to speak up. She wanted to get her plans in before the other Rangers took off in conversation. "Well, I'm going to my dad's apartment on the other side of Aleero City and spending the evening with him. We're gonna watch a bunch of cheesy scary movies like we did when I was younger. It should be fun."

Cora smiled and sat back in her seat, looking quite satisfied with her plans. "I'm taking my dad to a monster hovertruck rally. We always found joy in watching big hovertrucks destroy each other. I hear that they're allowing weapons starting this year."

"I'm gonna spend the day with my dad at the home," Brax said. "Gonna chill and play some board games with him. Maybe go out for some steak. What're your plans, rookie?"

"Oh, I got this big plan for Grim," Ratchet said excitedly, sitting up in his chair. "Gadgetron released this new weapon took kit. It comes with a mechanical wrench of every size, and proton scrubbers with built in quasar flashes, and these awesome screwdrivers with mechanical legs that screw in bolts for you. It's gonna cost me an arm and a leg, but I managed to save enough."

"Nice," Elaris commented.

The Rangers chatted some more about the plans that they had for the day. Each one of them took turns sharing a short story they had about them and their fathers, which usually led to laughter or embarrassment. Usually both. But everyone seemed very excited to get the day started, and they couldn't wait for the meeting to be over so they could spend some time with their fathers. However, there was one head in the room who hadn't said a single word. Not a plan, not a story, not even a chuckle. Clank simply sat quietly in his seat and looked back and forth between the Rangers as they spoke, tilting his head on occasion, as well as shifting a bit uncomfortably. He wasn't being rude, he just...didn't believe that this was a conversation that he should be apart of.

"It's settled!" Captain Qwark suddenly announced, causing everyone to quiet down and pay attention. "As head of the Galactic Rangers, I hereby give the order for all Rangers to spend Fathers Day with their fathers. Anyone who fails to do so will...I dunno...be fired or something. Take it up with HR."

Clank shifted uncomfortably again.

"Alright Rangers, you are dismissed!"

All of the Rangers (except for Clank) excitedly got out of their seats and began chatting again as they exited the meeting room with Captain Qwark. They all sounded excited for the day ahead. Clank dropped down off of his seat carefully and landed safely on the floor. He stood there for a moment, his hands still on the edge of the seat. There was a reflection of himself in the metal chair. He couldn't stop staring at it. It was only when he felt something touch his shoulder that he was startled out of his trance. He whipped around to see Ratchet with a surprise look on his face.

"Geez, I didn't mean to scare ya. Now come on, I gotta go get Grim's toolkit from the hardware store in the Kyzil Plateau market place. They contacted me this morning saying that it was in." Ratchet urged Clank along, but the small robot simply trotted behind like he was saying nothing at all. The Lombax raised an eyebrow at this strange behavior. "Hey, are you alright?"

The robot quickly perked up and shook his head, "No, I am fine. I am just...my processor is still 'waking up' as you would say. Let us move along."

Clank then urged Ratchet along, and the Lombax shrugged and walked out of the room with him. Clank stayed behind Ratchet. There was a small frown on his face. He never thought that he would be one for lying.

 **Veldin**

Clank sat on Ratchet's bed up in the loft in the garage. He had the pillow pushed up against the wall so he could sit back on a nice plush surface. He was prepped with delightful music that he was playing out of his sound system, a nice cup of (robot friendly) herbal tea, and a three thousand page book on mathematics. He was on chapter eighty-seven, which was covering advanced hypotenuses. Ratchet found it extremely boring, but Clank always found it quite fascinating. This mathematics book was a real page turner.

However, despite the comfortable conditions, music, tea, and large book, there was something...wrong. There was something looming over Clank that he couldn't seem to get rid of. He didn't feel...happy. Of course he knew why, but he had done his very best to create the perfect scenario for him to not be unhappy. It should have logically worked. He had everything he could ever want in a period of relaxation, but it just wasn't working with him. The robot's gears almost grinded as he found himself becoming a bit frustrated. He knew that he was in a difficult position today, but he didn't understand why he could stop himself from feeling this way.

There had to be a logical explanation for this. There had to be a solution for this. There had to be a-

"No way!"

Clank snapped his head over to the edge of the loft, alarmed by his boss, Grimroth Razz, yelling. The robot threw his book aside and quickly jumped down from the bed and went over to the edge of the loft. He grabbed a nearby workbench leg and looked down at the ground floor to see what was going on. Grimroth was standing next to a broken down ship that was in desperate need of repairs. Ratchet was with him, and he had a big black box in his hands that was open, revealing a large variety of mechanical tools. Clank felt himself calm down a bit. Ratchet was simply giving Grimroth his gift. He had been very excited to give it to him. And, by the sound of it, Grimroth was very happy to receive it.

"Ratchet, this toolkit series is brand new! How in the universe did you afford it?"

"I've been setting part of my Galactic Ranger paychecks aside to save up for it. I'm just glad that I could get my hands on one before they sold out," Ratchet said with a smile.

Grimroth observed the many tools inside, impressed by what it had to offer. He put the toolkit down and smiled, "Thanks, kid. This...this means a lot to me. It's nice knowing that you still have faith in an old Fongoid like me."

"Oh come on, Grim, you're not that old," the Lombax said with a small chuckle. The two then joined in a long overdue hug. "Happy Fathers Day, Grim."

"Thanks, kid."

Clank watched the two hug each other. A swift feeling rushed through him and his fingers tightened around the leg of the workbench. Not able to take much more of the sight, Clank turned around and went back to Ratchet's bed, climbing up onto it and plopping down back into his relaxation spot. He picked up his large math book and attempted to get back to reading it. However...he could not concentrate on it. The robot shifted uncomfortably as the pillow he was sitting against suddenly lost all of its comfort. The book he was reading was suddenly starting to lose its charm. Every word, every number, every line, they all turned into...Grimroth and Ratchet hugging.

The robot's eyes went wide and he quickly threw the book aside. It slid across the bedding and slammed down onto the floor, making a loud noise. Clank wasn't going to pick it up, though. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He was suddenly overcome with this...strange feeling. It was like sadness...but there was also anger...he didn't know what it was. It was confusing. It was annoying. He didn't understand why this was happening to him. So what if the Rangers were chatting away about today? So what if Ratchet hugged Grim?

So what if he didn't have parents?!

And with that thought, Clank slumped down in his sitting position and put his hands into his face. He stayed that way, not moving or making a noise. Not even Ratchet coming up the stairs was enough to break him out of it.

"I heard something fall up here. Is everything alright-Hey! Hey, what's wrong? Did you hit your eye with the corner of the book again?" Ratchet rushed over to the bed and sat down next to Clank. He put a hand on top of the robot's head and lifted it up so he could look at the injury. But...there was no injury. Just a pair of sad green eyes. Ratchet frowned, "Clank, buddy, what's the matter?"

Clank stayed silent at first, unwilling to talk. He hated giving Ratchet the burden of worrying about him and his problems. He preferred keeping his problems to himself. But he couldn't keep it to himself this time. Ratchet metaphorically had him in a corner. So, the robot looked up at his friend and stumbled a bit as he asked something he had wondered for awhile. "...What is it like? Having a father?"

Ratchet was very surprised by the question. It wasn't like Clank to ask him something like that. But then again, it was Fathers Day, and that meant that Clank couldn't...

The Lombax's ears lowered and he frowned even more, "Aw, pal, is this about...are you upset that you can't celebrate Fathers Day?"

The robot shrugged, "I was trying to suppress the sad feeling that I had, but I could not keep it down. But I do not understand. Assembly line robots normally do not have parents and they never acknowledge that fact. Why is it upsetting me so much that I do not have parents of my own?"

"Well, you're different from assembly line robots, remember? You were born with a conscious, and emotions, and a sense of free will. While assembly line robots are made with one track minds. You're one of the few robots who get to acknowledge the fact that you dob't have parents," Ratchet said.

"But I do not want to feel this way..."

The Lombax rubbed his chin for a moment, trying to think of something. An idea then popped into his head. "I'll tell you what. _I'll_ be your dad." Clank looked at Ratchet with a very strange and slightly disturbed face. Ratchet took a moment to process what he had just offered and realized how weird it had sounded. "Too awkward? Yeah, yeah that's too awkward."

"It is indeed. I appreciate you trying to help me, though," Clank said with a sad smile.

Ratchet's ears lowered again. He felt really bad for Clank, but he could relate in a way. After all, Ratchet didn't know his real, biological father. He didn't even know if he was still alive. But, unlike Clank, Grimroth found him as a baby and raised him as his own. Ratchet got a happy ending with an adoptive father, but Clank didn't...wait...maybe that was it! Clank didn't have a real father, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have one at all.

"You know," Ratchet started, getting Clank's attention, "you've been living here for a while. Eight months, right?"

"I have lived here for eight months, that is correct."

"And, well...oof, I don't wanna sound cheesy, but...we have gotten pretty close. Sometimes, I kinda think of you as a bit more than a friend."

"How so?"

"Well, to be honest, sometimes I see you as a...a little brother of sorts."

"A little brother?" Clank tilted his head.

"Yeah. And I sometimes think of me as your big brother. And, you know...you're technically my little brother...and your big brother has a dad..." Ratchet stumbled over his words. This was getting cheesy. So cheesy that it would go great with crackers. But he kept talking to get to his point. "What I'm trying to say is...if you want to...me, you and Grim can be a sort of...family."

"A family?" Clank's eyes lit up a bit.

"Sure. Grim can be the grumpy old dad, I can be the oldest brother, and you can be the little brother. One weird, mechanic family."

"What about Zed?"

I dunno, he can be the family hamster, I don't care." Ratchet cleared his throat. "So, what do you say? Do you want to be apart of a weird, multi-species family?"

Clank pondered the new offer that Ratchet was giving him. He had to admit, it warmed his circuits that Ratchet told him that he considered him as a younger brother. He didn't know that the Lombax was that fond of him. But...could he really intrude on Ratchet and Grimroth's family like this. He was merely a defective warbot. Wanting him in the family seemed rather illogical.

Clank was about to ask Ratchet why exactly they would want him in their family, but the words nearly clogged up his throat valve as he saw the look on Ratchet's face. The Lombax had his ears held up high and he was smiling brightly. Clank remembered that face. It was the same one that the Lombax had the day they first met. The same smile was shown as Ratchet helped him off of the ground for the second time and bestowed his Clank name onto him. The robot gave a small smile. He really did care.

Clank nodded, "Ratchet, I would be honored to be part of your family. Thank you so much."

"Alright, Clank Razz it is!" Ratchet said happily, suddenly scooping up the robot. Clank gave a strange chuckle. He didn't expect to take their last name as well. But 'Clank Razz' did have a nice little ring to it. The robot then let out a little 'whoa!' as Ratchet pushed him up onto his shoulders. The Lombax yelled out as he went towards the stairs. "Hey Grim! You've got a new son!"

* * *

 **Okay, I wanted to make a Fathers Day oneshot, but I didn't know what I wanted to make it about. I came up with this story's plot, like, three hours ago, so sorry if it's a little late.**

 **Anyway, Happy Fathers Day, everyone!**

 **Sidenote: I know people are going to say this, but I don't think that Clank would consider Dr. Nefarious his father. And even if he did, in the movie, Ratchet and Clank think that Nefarious is dead. So it would still be the same situation. Just wanted to point that out.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


End file.
